Conjugation

One of the fundementals of every language is the Conjugation. This is when vocab in a sentence is written based on whenever something happens in the present or past. In Japanese there are more different conjugation forms (Present, Past, Negative, Potential, .. ). The conjugation in Japanese is also different depending on the politeness level of a sentence.

Verbs

There are 2 types of Verbs in Japanese: U-Verbs and RU-Verbs.

A verb is a RU-Verb if all of the following are true:

The verb (in its non-conjugated form) ends with る

The verb does not end with する or 来る, these are exceptions and not U/RU-Verbs.

Verb endings

After knowing the verb's type you can start conjugating. To conjugate a verb, the ending (る for RU-Verbs and the last vowel for U-Verbs) is changed and some hiragana is added.
The verbs する (To do) and くる (来る, To come) and noun/verb combinations ending with する or くる (来る) are exceptions, they change completely.
The following table displays all endings possible when conjugating:

U-Verb (Using example はなす)

RU-Verb (Using example たべる)

する

くる

Notes

~A

はなさ

たべ

し

こ

~I

はなし

たべ

し

き

~U

はなす

たべる

する

くる

Dictionairy form

~E

はなせ

たべれ

すれ

これ

~OU

はなそう

たべよう

しよう

こよう

~TE

***

たべて

して

きて

~TA

***

たべた

した

きた

*** These are different depending on how this U-Verb ends. See table TE/TA endings

U-Verb TE/TA endings based on the Dictionairy form ending

~TE

~TA

う, つ, る

って

った

ぶ, む, め

んで

んだ

く

いて

いた

ぐ

いで

いだ

す

して

した

Conjugation forms

The next table displays the ending to use and the hiragana to add:

in Polite sentences

in Informal sentences

Present/Future *

~I + ます

~U

Past

~I + ました

~TA

Progressive Tense

~TE + います

~TE + いる

Negative Present/Future

~I + ません

~A + ない

Negative Past

~I + ませんでした

~A + なかった

Command Form

~TE + ください~I + なさい

~TEUsually considered rude!U Verbs: ~ERU-Verbs: ~I + ろする: しろくる: こい

Negative Command

~A + ないでください

~A + ないで~U + な

Potential Form(can/able to)

U-Verbs: ~E + ますRU-Verbs: ~A + られますする: できますくる: こられます

U-Verbs: ~E + るRU-Verbs: ~A + られるする: できるくる: これる

Want to..

~I + たいです

~I + たい

Don't want to..

~I + たくないです~I + たくありません (More formal)

~A + たくない

Let's..

~I + ましょう

~OU

Passive (to be ...ed)

U-Verbs: ~A + れますRU-Verbs: ~A + られますする: されますくる: こられます

U-Verbs: ~A + れるRU-Verbs: ~A + られるする: されるくる: こられる

Causative Form(to allow/force someone to ..)

U-Verbs: ~A + せますRU-Verbs: ~A + させますする: させますくる: こさせます

U-Verbs: ~A + せるRU-Verbs: ~A + させるする: させるくる: こさせる

* In Japanese, The present and future forms are the same.Note: For the verb ある (To exist), the negative form is ない

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